Foundations of Law
What led to judges' consistent rulings forming a shared body of law?
The 1066 Norman Conquest
What is the term for powers listed in section 51 of the Constitution, such as taxation, defence and external affairs?
Enumerated Powers
What are the four categories individual rights are divided into?
Civil, political, economic, social
What Commonwealth body, abbreviated OAIC, oversees compliance with privacy law?
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
In what year were the Bali Nine arrested?
2005
What principle means courts follow the reasoning of earlier, similar decisions?
Precedent
What is the term for powers not listed in the Constitution, which remain with the states?
Residual powers
What is the name of the 1977 NSW Act that makes it unlawful to discriminate?
Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW)
What 2021 Act created the eSafety Commissioner?
Online Safety Act 2021
What crime was Jock Palfreeman convicted of in Bulgaria?
Murder
Under procedural fairness, what specific right allows a person affected by a decision to know the case against them and have time to respond?
The right to be heard
What is the term for powers shared between the Commonwealth and the states, such as health and education?
Concurrent powers
The Workplace Gender Equality Act's object is merit-based employment, "not preferential treatment." What does this rule out, and why does that limit the Act's impact?
It rules out favouring women to fix imbalances, it can only remove barriers, not speed up change
Give two of the reasons why it's difficult to enforce individual rights online.
Cross-border jurisdiction / anonymity via VPNs and pseudonyms / easily altered digital evidence / high cost of litigation
What did the Bulgarian court find about Jock Palfreeman's self-defence claim, and on what basis did it reject it?
Rejected; the court characterised his act as intended to "shock Bulgarian society" and convicted him of murder
What is Tyranny?
A government where power is concentrated in one leader, courts lack independence, and the media is censored.
A murder case is decided in the NSW Supreme Court and the losing party wants to appeal. Trace the path this appeal could take from there, naming the court(s) involved and explaining why the final step is described as final.
It goes to the Court of Appeal (part of the Supreme Court), then a party may seek special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The High Court is final because there is no higher court in the Australian system to appeal to
What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination, and why is indirect discrimination harder to prove?
Direct is blatant and explicit
Indirect is a neutral rule that disadvantages a group in practice, making it much harder to detect and prove
What is "familial DNA searching," and why does it raise privacy concerns?
Searching that matches a relative rather than the suspect directly, it implicates people who haven't been charged or given consent
Give one legal and one non-legal method used in response to the Bali Nine case.
Legal: e.g. judicial appeals, presidential clemency, prisoner transfer
Non-legal: e.g. media coverage, advocacy (Richard Branson, Tony Abbott's lobbying)
Name two purposes of Law.
Maintain order / protect rights / resolve disputes peacefully / promote social justice
Explain the difference between the High Court's appellate jurisdiction and its original jurisdiction under section 75.
Appellate = hears appeals from lower courts
Original = hears matters first, e.g. disputes between states or matters involving the Commonwealth
Name two of the three mechanisms the slides identify for how law reform happens.
Parliament (statute law) / Courts (judicial precedent) / International pressure (treaties)
Why might the Privacy Act 1988 fail to protect someone whose data is misused by a small business or an offshore platform?
The Act and Australian Privacy Principles apply only to organisations earning $3 million or more, so smaller and offshore platforms often fall outside its coverage
What comment by then-PM Tony Abbott provoked Indonesian backlash during the clemency campaign, and why was it counterproductive?
He linked Australia's tsunami aid to clemency for Chan and Sukumaran, seen as coercive, which provoked Indonesian anger and undermined the diplomatic effort